You don’t start a conversation with Mick Mars by asking, “How are you?” It comes out more like, “How are you?” He’s used to it. Ever since the guitarist went public in 2001 with his decades-long battle with ankylosing spondylitis – a pernicious, inflammatory form of arthritis in which the vertebrae grow together and fuse the spine – he’s become accustomed to discussing the state of his health.
“I actually feel pretty good,” he says. Speaking via Zoom from his home in Nashville, Mars sits in a chair and his body is rigid; he’s lost most of the mobility in his spine and has a pronounced head-forward posture. His arms and hands, however, are completely unaffected; he waves them around freely and frequently.
